System for determining user preferences

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a system for determining user data, particularly user preferences or evaluations. The system comprises a multitude of mobile end apparatuses ( 1 ) which may be integrated in a portable apparatus such as a mobile phone or a watch ( 7 ) and are carried or worn by members of a group. The mobile end apparatuses ( 1 ) can establish a wireless communication with a central unit ( 2 ) and particularly transmit user data stored in a memory ( 4 ) or current user data detected via sensors ( 5 ). When using the system, for example, in a discotheque, the visitors favorite musical genres as well as an evaluation of the current program can be determined and taken into account. Via corresponding sensors ( 5 ), implicit evaluation criteria such as, for example, the movements of a user can be detected.

The invention relates to a system for determining user data,particularly preferences of and/or evaluations by a group of independentusers.

DE 38 38 892 A1 discloses a system for determining user data during adiscourse, which system comprises a multitude of mobile end apparatusesdistributed among the audience, as well as a central unit. The audiencecan transmit a signal to the central unit via the mobile endapparatuses, which central unit indicates the received signals to thelecturer. When a predetermined number of received signals is exceeded,the central unit can also activate an indication which can be observedby the audience. The system is to be used for feedback to the lecturerabout the evaluation of his discourse by the audience. However, thesystem does not provide the lecturer with information about givenaudience preferences.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system fordetermining user data which provides the possibility of a differentiateddetermination of preferences of and/or evaluations by a group of users.

This object is solved by a system having the characterizing features asdefined in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are defined in thedependent claims.

The system for determining user data such as particularly preferences ofand/or evaluations by a group of users comprises:

-   -   a) at least one mobile (i.e. portable) end apparatus comprising        a memory for predetermined user data, a detection means for        current user data, and an interface for wireless radio,        infrared, etc. communication. The system preferably comprises a        multitude of such mobile end apparatuses so that a maximal        number of members or all members of a group of users can be        equipped with such an end apparatus.    -   b) a central unit comprising an interface for wireless        communication with the end apparatus and being adapted to        evaluate user data provided by the end apparatus. The central        unit is preferably constituted by an electronic data-processing        unit (computer) with corresponding peripheral apparatuses.

A differentiated detection of data of a group of users is possible withthe system described hereinbefore. Due to the mobility of the endapparatuses as well as the wireless communication between the endapparatuses and the central unit, the users are not restricted or onlyminimally restricted in their freedom of movement so that the system canalso be used with users who do not find themselves in a static situationat a given location. Examples are dance and sports events as well aspublic festivals. Furthermore, it should be noted that the endapparatuses are adapted by the memory and the detection means for thepurpose of providing both predetermined (static) user data andsituation-dependent (variable) current user data. The feedback to storeduser data provides the possibility of, for example, determining userpreferences that remain the same, which preferences may then be targetedupon by a provider, a performer, or an organizer. The detection ofcurrent user data also provides the possibility of determiningevaluations of a current program or a current situation by the users sothat an organizer receives feedback on these evaluations and can adaptto the users' wishes.

In a further embodiment of the system, the mobile end apparatuses may beadapted to provide information about a change of the current user data,detected by the detection means, via the interface so that the centralunit is informed about this. This ensures that, on the one hand, thecentral unit has the constant disposal of updated user data such as, forexample, evaluations of the current program and that, on the other hand,the communication is limited to a minimum.

Furthermore, the central unit may be adapted to request user datareferring to a predetermined formulation of questions by the mobile endapparatuses in the transmission range. In this way, the central unitcan, if necessary, gather judgments about an organizer's currentprogram. Moreover, the central unit can determine the preferences of theusers that are currently within its catchment area while referring tothe user data stored in the end apparatuses, in order that these datacan be optimally taken into account in the next organization of theprogram. For example, music titles and/or music genres preferred byvisitors of a discotheque can be determined so that corresponding piecesof music can be played.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the system, the central unitis adapted to determine the spatial position of a mobile end apparatusand/or the presence of a mobile end apparatus within a defined spatialrange. Such a determination of the position can be used for a furtherdifferentiation of the data evaluation. For example, different spatialranges may have a different significance so that the number of users inthese spatial ranges provides information about the user preferences.For example, in a discotheque, the popularity of a current music titlecan be rated on the basis of the percentage of visitors that iscurrently on the dance floor.

Several possibilities are available for implementing the means fordetecting current user data. The detection means may comprise, forexample, a keyboard and/or a speech recognition system via which theuser can actively enter data. In this case it may already be sufficientwhen the keyboard only provides the possibility of entering binaryinformation (“yes/no” or “good/bad”, etc.). The speech recognitionsystem may be coupled to speech recognition so as to recognize spokencommands and convert them accordingly. Furthermore it is possible topass on information expressed by the users as speech data to the centralunit in which they can be further evaluated.

Furthermore, the detection means may comprise at least one sensor for abody parameter of the user. Body parameters may be, for example, thepulse and/or the skin resistance, because these values are closeryrelated to the user's activity and his emotional condition and thus givean indication about the user's judgment of the current situation. Inthis respect, it is advantageous that the judgment is recognized withoutnecessitating the user to actively or consciously perform an entry forthis purpose.

Furthermore, the detection means may comprise a motion sensor. Theuser's movements can be detected with this sensor, which, in givencases, allows a conclusion about the user's judgment of the currentsituation. For example, the visitors of a public festival will attend aninteresting performance essentially without moving around or withoutchanging their whereabouts, whereas the visitors of a discotheque reactto a favorite music title by dancing, i.e. vigorous movements.

The memory of the mobile end apparatuses is preferably provided on anexchangeable chip card. In this case, the stored user data can be usedon different end apparatuses. Particularly, an organizer may provide endapparatuses on loan to the visitors who supply their personal user databy inserting their chip cards in the relevant end apparatus.

Particularly when there is a large number of users who are provided withmobile end apparatuses within the catchment area of a central unit, thecommunication connection may be heavily frequented. To limit thecommunication signals to be exchanged to a minimum in this situation,the mobile end apparatus may be adapted to express a user data such as,for example, the judgment of the current program of an organizer as a(fracture) number p between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0≦p≦1) and then (for example,controlled by a random number generator) transmit, with a probabilitycorresponding to this number p, one of two possible binary values (0 or1, yes or no, etc.) via the interface of the mobile end apparatus. When,for example, the numbers 0 and 1 are available as binary values, theaverage value or expected value of the signal transmitted by the endapparatus exactly corresponds to the number p. When a correspondinglylarge number of mobile end apparatuses performs a probability-controlledtransmission in this way, the signal averaged through all endapparatuses corresponds, with great accuracy, to the average value ofthe numbers p computed by the respective end apparatuses.

The mobile end apparatus of the system may be an independent apparatuswhich is only used for the envisaged detection of user data. However,the mobile end apparatus is preferably integrated in another portableapparatus, which is carried by the user anyway, so that it canparticipate in the resources of this apparatus (energy supply, memory,interfaces, etc.) and does not encumber the user as an independentobject. Particularly, the mobile end apparatus may be integrated in thisway in a mobile telephone, a wrist watch or an apparatus for reproducingmusic (MP3 player, portable radio, cassette and/or CD apparatus, etc.).

The system may further comprise an entry device for entering thepredetermined user data. In this case, a load station may be concerned,with which the user preferences can be easily entered. The entry devicemay be arranged, for example, in a discotheque or on a PC and/orconnected to the Internet.

The end apparatus is preferably adapted to give the user feedback abouthis communication with the central unit. For example, it can beindicated that information was sent to the central unit so that the useof the system can be reconstructed.

The central unit preferably comprises a user interface via which a usercan initiate, for example, inquiries. Further advantageouscharacteristic features of the user interface will be elucidated in thedescription of the Figures.

These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will beelucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

In the drawing:

The sole FIGURE shows diagrammatically a system for determining userdata according to the invention.

The system essentially comprises two electronic components, namely amobile end apparatus 1 and a central unit 2. The mobile end apparatus 1may be integrated in another portable apparatus such as a mobile phone,an MP3 player or, as shown, a wristwatch 7. When using the system, aplurality of uniform mobile end apparatuses 1 is distributed among usersin a group of persons. The FIGURE shows only one mobile end apparatus 1representing this plurality.

The system will hereinafter be elucidated by way of example as appliedin a discotheque. The characteristic features described may, however,also be realized and utilized at other events such as, for example, a TVshow, a sports event, an industry fair, a public festival or the like.

The mobile end apparatus 1 comprises a control unit 3 with which amemory 4, a sensor module 5 as well as an interface 6 for receiving andtransmitting wireless communication signals are coupled. Via theinterface 6, the mobile end apparatus 1 may inform the central unit 2 ofpredetermined user data stored in the memory 4 or of user data detectedby the sensor module 5, in which central unit they can be evaluatedaccordingly.

The user interface on the end apparatus 1 should be user-friendly andsimple. To explain the usefulness of the system to the user, the controlunit 3 should give the user explicit feedback by indicating, forexample, the dispatch of information to the central unit 2.

The sensor module 5 is used to pick up user information. It mayparticularly comprise a keyboard and/or a speech recognition system viawhich the user can enter targeted information. For example, he can entera preference profile to be stored in the memory 4 by selecting, forexample, favorite music genres or bands (which then represent a musicgenre). Furthermore, the user can also give a simple binary judgment(good/bad) of a current piece of music via a keyboard in order to informthe disc jockey of this judgment. Furthermore, it is possible via anentry unit such as a keyboard to select a data from information storedin the memory 4 such as, for example, a list of the user's favoritetitles and to transfer this data “upon the press of a button” to thecentral unit 2 (as a wish to the disc jockey).

Moreover, the sensor module 5 may also be equipped with further sensorsproviding the possibility of a differentiated detection of evaluationindices without necessitating the user to actively or consciouslyperform an entry. For example, a motion detector (acceleration sensor)may belong to the sensor module 5, with which detector it can bedetermined whether and how vigorously the user is moving about. In adiscotheque, relatively vigorous dance movements might lead, forexample, to the conclusion of greater enthusiasm among the dancers. Thecurrent rate of movement is preferably compared with an average rate ofmovement so as to obtain an evaluation which is attuned to the user aswell as to the location where the mobile end apparatus 1 is used.

Furthermore, the sensor module 5 may comprise other sensors fordetecting body parameters such as, for example the pulse or skinresistance (perspiration) giving an indication about the user's activityor his emotional condition.

In co-operation with a corresponding infrastructure, the mobile endapparatus 1 may also be adapted to detect leaving and/or stepping ondefined areas such as, for example, the dance floor.

The memory 4 of the mobile end apparatus 1 is preferably provided on anexchangeable chip card which may be, for example, simultaneously theclub card for the discotheque. Such a chip card with a stored userprofile can then be loaded by the user into a loan apparatus provided bythe discotheque so that the permanent user data do not need to bere-entered every time. Furthermore, the discotheque may also providefurther details of the profile via chip card/load terminals in orderthat, for example, a discotheque specializing in a given music genre cangive more precise information by selecting special titles in conformitywith the user's favorite music genre expressed in his user profile.

The control unit 3 of the end apparatus 1 determines the evaluation of acurrent situation from the above described information from the sensormodule 5 and the stored data in the memory 4, for example, of thecurrent piece of music or of a proposal provided by the central unit 2.Such a proposal may thus be tested by the organizer (disc jockey) beforeit is realized, without the user noticing it or being disturbed thereby.

The evaluation program carried out by the control unit 3 may go beyond asimple binary evaluation (good/bad) and may be organized, for example,by formulating different questions such as:

-   -   unknown-known (for bands/music titles, in which the fact whether        these are known is determined, for example, with reference to        their occurrence in the user profile in the memory 4);    -   popular-indifferent-not popular; for the group dynamics in a        discotheque, the music titles having a strongly positive or        strongly negative evaluation are more important than nuances in        the middle of the evaluation scale).

For the implicit judgment mechanisms, the end apparatus 1 usuallyrequires support from the central unit 2 so as to be able to detect, forexample, events such as leaving the dance floor and to assign a givenpiece of music. Such a support may be given by providing information(for example, information about a new piece) via a broadcast to all endapparatuses. Alternatively, the end apparatus 1 itself may also demandthe required data from the central unit 2 when the correspondinginteraction takes place.

The communication between a mobile end apparatus 1 and a central unit 2may start both from the end apparatus 1 and from the central unit 2. Forexample, the end apparatus 1 can inform the central unit 2 that a newevaluation of the current situation (music) is expected by the userbecause he has pressed an evaluation key or because an implicitevaluation parameter (movement rate, etc.) has changed drastically.Conversely, the central unit 2 can query all end apparatuses or a givenpart of the group of end apparatuses 1, for example, propose a musictitle to be played, after an evaluation of the current situation or withreference to a given formulation of questions.

To reach a simple decision of minimizing the bandwidth and distributingthe computing load in the case of an inquiry by the central unit 2, eachend apparatus 1 may be adapted to compute a relative evaluation number pin percents and subsequently send back a bit of signal information tothe central unit 2 with the probability p checked by a random numbergenerator. The value of expectation of the relative number of feedbacksof end apparatuses then corresponds to the average value of theindividual evaluation numbers p of the end apparatuses (which values arenot known to the central unit). As compared with a feedback of the endapparatuses controlled by a threshold decision in the end apparatus(i.e. when an evaluation number p>50% is treated as “yes” or “sendreply” and the end apparatus does not otherwise reply), the variance issmall in the above-mentioned probability-controlled transmission and ata large number of end apparatuses. When, for example, the evaluationnumbers p of all end apparatuses were near 51%, the threshold decisionwould simulate a 100% approval, while the probability method wouldsupply the approximately correct value.

The protocols used for the communication between the central unit 2 andthe end apparatuses 1 are preferably provided with a given minimalextent of safety mechanisms in order that manipulated end apparatusescannot pass on false user data to the central unit 2.

The “wireless infrastructure” required by the system ensures thetransmission of wireless communication signals from the central unit 2to the end apparatuses 1 and vice versa. It also ensures thelocalization of the end apparatuses 1 in given areas. These tasks may betaken over by two separate technologies, for example Bluetooth or thelike for the communication and a transponder technology for thelocalization.

The localization of the end apparatuses may be comparatively easy sothat only the whereabouts in a given spatial area (for example, dancefloor, bar, lounge) can be determined. However, a more accurate,continuous determination of positions is preferably possible so that,for example, persons who are at the edge of the dance floor and cantherefore be more easily persuaded to dance can be taken into account toa greater extent. The system could then distinguish between dancers andnon-dancers, for example, on the basis of the users' movements and thusdynamically recognize the “edge” of the dance floor.

The central unit 2 to which the organizer (disc jockey) has access maybe a PC 9 with a monitor 10 and entry devices such as a keyboard or amouse, as well as a connection to an interface 8 for wirelesscommunication with the end apparatuses.

In connection with a corresponding localization function, for example,all mobile end apparatuses or users may be shown on the monitor 10 asdots 11 on a map of the room so that the organizer can make anassignment to real persons.

The software run on the PC 9 for obtaining and evaluating the user datatypically uses terms such as “local area”, “group of persons”, “action”(for example, stepping on the dance floor) and “offers” (for example,music titles). The software allows the organizer to clarify theformulation of questions that are relevant to him in a very easy way bymeans of these terms, for example, the question, in a discotheque, of“what piece of music (offer) can persuade the group at the bar (localarea) to step on the dance floor (action)?”. An essential factor for theassociated software is the definition of similarity relations or a genreassignment, in which the definition of prototypes is usually sufficientfor given music genres.

The system according to the invention thus provides the possibility ofquerying the public's interest at public events. Stored preferences oruser profiles as well as current feedback (wishes, spontaneousevaluation, implicit feedback, etc.) may then be taken into account. Theinterests of a whole group defined by its whereabouts (for example,dance floor) can be detected by the system. For use of the system, onlywireless, portable end apparatuses are required, which end apparatusesmay be integrated in apparatuses that are worn or carried anyway.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1 mobile end apparatus-   2 central unit-   3 control unit-   4 memory (chip card)-   5 sensor module-   6 interface-   7 wristwatch-   8 interface-   9 PC-   10 monitor-   11 representation of users

1. A system for determining user data, particularly preferences ofand/or evaluations by a group of users, the system comprising a) atleast one mobile end apparatus (1) comprising a memory (4) forpredetermined user data, a detection means (5) for current user data,and an interface (6) for wireless communication; b) a central unit (2)comprising an interface (8) for wireless communication with the endapparatus (1) and being adapted to evaluate user data provided by theend apparatus (1).
 2. A system as claimed in claim 1, characterized inthat the mobile end apparatus (1) is adapted to provide informationabout a change of the current user data via the interface (6).
 3. Asystem as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the central unit (2)is adapted to request user data referring to a predetermined formulationof questions by the mobile end apparatuses (1).
 4. A system as claimedin claim 1, characterized in that the central unit (2) is adapted todetermine the spatial position of a mobile end apparatus (1) and/or thepresence of a mobile end apparatus (1) within a defined spatial range.5. A system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the detectionmeans for current user data comprises a keyboard and/or a speechrecognition system.
 6. A system as claimed in claim 1, characterized inthat the detection means for current user data comprises at least onesensor (5) for a body parameter of the user, preferably the pulse and/orskin resistance.
 7. A system as claimed in claim 1, characterized inthat the detection means for current user data comprises a motion sensor(5).
 8. A system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the memory(4) is present on an exchangeable chip card.
 9. A system as claimed inclaim 1, characterized in that the mobile end apparatus (1) is adaptedto express a user data as a number 0≦p≦1 and transmit, with acorresponding probability p, one of two possible binary values via theinterface (6).
 10. A system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in thatthe mobile end apparatus (1) is integrated in a mobile phone, a watch(7) or an apparatus for reproducing music.
 11. A system as claimed inclaim 1, characterized in that it comprises an entry device for enteringthe predetermined user data.
 12. A system as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that the end apparatus (1) is adapted to give the userfeedback about his communication with the central unit (2).
 13. A systemas claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the central unit (2)comprises a user interface via which a user can initiate particularlyinquiries.